The family connection with Sussex comes through the ownership of Petworth House.

Unveiling of the Arundel War Memorial

Duchess Gwendolen, the widow of the 15th Duke and mother of Bernard, the future 16th Duke was also present at the ceremony, but Bernard did not take part as he was still a minor.

Originally, the memorial was in the middle of the roadway, but it was later altered to make the base wider and to create a large traffic island.

The names of 93 men who died during the First World War were carved into the stone in the order of their rank.

Strangely, some of them are also included on the Lyminster memorial, which is currently housed in St. Mary Magdalene Church, near Arundel.

Following the Second World War a further 26 names were added.

Three men, however, were omitted. One was Ernest Ross Ballantyne, who was in the home guard and another was James O’Brien who died in the air raid on Ford Airfield on 6th June 1940.

Technically, they both died whilst serving their country during the War, but the tradition is that only the names of soldiers, airmen and sailors are included on war memorials.

The third was Arthur James Cunningham, who died as a result of injuries suffered in another raid on Ford Airfield on August 18, 1940. He was in the Royal Marines Police, which consisted of ex-Royal Marines, not currently serving officers and as such, it raised problems regarding his status with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. It was only in January 2011 that they agreed to add his name to their lists and he is now included in their Civilian Roll of Honour for the Chichester District.

Arundel still holds a service of remembrance each November on the Sunday closest to November 11, with the beginning of the two minute silence being sounded from the Castle. The High Street is closed to traffic to allow friends and family to gather around the memorial to pay their respects and to lay poppies.

This is not the only memorial to Arundel’s war dead however, as there is also a white marble tablet in the Post Office dedicated to the four postal employees who died in action.

Further details of the servicemen recorded on the memorial can be found on the Roll of Honour site - http://www.roll-of-honour.com/Sussex/Arundel.html